The Space Between Us
by SalvatoreQuinn
Summary: Can you go from just friends to friends with benefits without ruining everything? Elena and Damon are at an impasse and will have to make a decision regarding their messy love before it's too late. They're best friends and lovers until they're torn apart by secrets, lies, and pride. A love like theirs - consumes until there's nothing left to break. AU/AH. Formerly known as FwB.


**AN**: You ask, and I deliver. With a little help from my friends, _Friends with Benefits_ have been updated and revised. It's now named The Space Between Us. A friend of mine said that friends with benefits didn't fit the story, so, who am I to argue! I started this fanfic 2010 and almost LOL when rereading my old chapters. Oh well, some of you will recognize it, some of you won't. Anyway, let's get on with it. Some chapters will be long, some a little shorter. But, here it is. Enjoy!

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**PROLOGUE**

**ELENA****Mystic Falls, 2008**

"Where are you?"

His voice caused her to excuse herself and rush from the small group of people she was currently talking to. She didn't want to risk them hearing Damon if he chose to talk dirty – he had a habit of doing so.

"I told you I would be busy this afternoon." She hissed as she jogged towards the large kitchen.

Carol Lockwood was known for having extra staff brought in during her events and parties. It was standard — at least if you were the mayor's wife. That woman managed to run a household without as much as blinking and Elena had always felt nervous around her.

The chef looked at her in surprise when she flung open the door and walked straight through the kitchen, stopping at the back door leading out to the massive garden. She put a hand on the doorknob and escaped outside.

"But we've got plans." He said, his voice soft as velvet.

"Damon." She sighed and pulled a hand through her hair, exasperated.

"You know you want to." He teased.

Damn it. And as per usual, he was right. She didn't exactly like the Lockwood family – they were rather strict and Elena knew how restless she would get after another thirty minutes of small talk with her father's colleagues.

However, she felt slightly suspicious about Damon's phone call. He was acting weird. Oh well, weird might not be the right word to describe it – clingy felt more spot on. She was surprised by it. He'd never been clingy before.

"But I'm busy. It's important, you know that." She paused and glanced over her shoulder to check and make sure that no one was coming her way. She didn't want Carol to catch her in the kitchen – that woman wasn't to play with if you actually valued your life.

"Elena. Little Damon misses you"

She could almost see the pout on his face as he repeated her name a second and third time, knowing he wouldn't accept her no. She had to admit that he managed to get his will through on a daily basis if he put his mind to it. His powers of persuasion had always been inevitably good.

"You will have to put some ice on little Damon and wait until I get home." She rolled her eyes, knowing he would scowl at her if he could see the expression on her face.

"Hey now, little Damon is perfectly fine."

"Little Damon? Really?"

"Oh, come on!"

"I love it. It's such a cute nickname. Besides, you said it first, so you can't really blame me for using it from here on out."

Elena and Damon had known each other since kindergarten. They'd always been close friends. They'd practically grown up together. Their families had been a part of each other's lives since the beginning of time. Their families shared an unbreakable bond. Their great-grandparents had worked side by side to rebuild Mystic Falls after the devastating accident that had taken place almost a hundred years ago. Their families shared a lot of history.

Damon and Elena had been inseparable from an early age. They'd always had each other's backs, had always cared for one another. Things started to change once they reached puberty, Damon had started to pull away and she'd felt lost with despair and worry, unsure of what to do.

Then, something had shifted into place and things had gone back to normal. However, things didn't stay normal for long. Elena had been sixteen years old the first time they slept with each other. He'd been seventeen and there had been both alcohol and laughter involved.

She had just wanted to get it over with. She didn't want to make it a big deal. She didn't feel the need to get hearts and flowers from a guy she was in love with – she wanted to lose her virginity and what could be better than losing it to someone she'd known her entire life?

He'd been her first.

And even though Damon had slept with other girls before her, both of them had been nervous. There had been no oral sex, no foreplay whatsoever – only two young people who had chosen to share an intimate experience with each other. They'd kissed and it had been weird. It had been such a strange feeling; kissing your best friend. However, the thought of it being weird evaporated when he'd pressed himself against her body.

Damon had fumbled with his hands and she had pressed herself against him, eager and more than ready for him. She'd felt how hard he'd been inside his boxers as he'd pressed his member against her body.

They'd managed to discard their clothes, they'd ended up on the bed. He'd caressed her naked breasts and she'd tried to relax but it had been difficult. She'd been nervous, slightly worried that they would ruin things between them. But then, she'd felt him rubbing his erection against her. Her worries had faded and she'd watched in fascination as he'd sheathed himself.

Elena had pulled him up over her, she'd spread her legs wide to accommodate him. She'd involuntarily moved backward when the tip of his member had touched her center, slowly breaching her damp flesh.

He'd told her to relax and then he'd pressed himself closer. He'd entered her and she'd gasped, slightly shocked at the feel of him lodged inside her. She'd groaned, more of the pain than of pleasure. A hint of worry had crossed his features and Damon had stroked away the lonely tear that had escaped from her eye. He'd asked if he'd hurt her, he'd asked if she wanted him to stop.

Elena had urged him to move above her. He'd been so careful and considerate. However, the feel of her had sent Damon over the edge within minutes and she'd never gotten the opportunity to allow herself to enjoy it. Her thoughts had been completely adrift.

She'd been aware of how the sex would affect their friendship. Either they'd get closer or they'd fall apart. Thankfully, they'd never made a big deal out of it. She loved him but it wasn't like she'd been in love with him at the time. Was she attracted to him? Yes. Elena had always been attracted to him. But – she'd never – they'd never had romantic feelings for one another.

She'd lost her virginity to Damon, three years had passed since then and they still hooked up on a regular basis. It wasn't like they were fuck-buddies... They were just friends, friends that had sex every now and then.

Throughout the years, Damon had developed a sense of expertise regarding her body. He always managed to play it like an instrument, was able to make her scream out of pleasure and squirm in satisfaction. Elena had explored almost all things sexual with him. She'd crossed lines she'd never cross with anyone else. Ever. She'd trusted Damon with her body and he'd always cherished her.

There was still a lot about their intimate relationship that she wanted to keep a secret. Therefore, her friend Caroline was the only one who knew the truth about her 'friendship' with Damon.

Caroline had actually tried to lay her own hands on him before Elena slipped and basically told her everything – except the details. She'd never felt the need to gossip about her love life or scrutinize over every little thing he said or did when they were together.

"Please, Lena." He chuckled quietly.

Damon was the only person who was allowed to call her that and for good reasons. She glanced over her shoulder, knowing he wouldn't stop nagging until she said yes. She sighed, defeated – although secretly happy about leaving the party early.

"Okay. Fine. Pick me up in ten."

Elena ended the call, walked back inside the kitchen, leaving the curious staff behind. She searched through the ballroom, looking for her parents. Her father Grayson was talking to a colleague of his and seemed quite pleased when he laughed at one of his jokes.

Her father was a wonderful man. A great father. Sure, he could be tough but also fair. He understood her in a way that her mother didn't. Elena and Grayson shared a lot of personality traits so they got along very well – which also meant they fought and disagreed a lot of the time.

He embraced her as she interrupted the next joke he was about to tell.

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Ten minutes later and she'd managed to pull the I-suffer-from-hormonal-migraine-due-to-my-period lie and walked down the stairs of Lockwood's mansion. Damon was already waiting for her. She tried to hold back a smile but failed when she reached the car. His dark blonde hair was perfect and impeccably messy, his blue eyes glittered as she opened the door and got into the passenger seat beside him.

She'd lost count of how many times she'd been sitting in his car. She'd forgotten how many times the leather-clad seats had given her a rash due to certain activities. She'd forgotten how many times he'd smiled at her, erasing all her trouble and doubts.

"How was the party?" He asked as he drove off and left the huge building behind.

"Lovely."

Elena leaned back in her seat, kicked off her shoes and stuck her feet through the open window. She could hear him groan at her.

"Hey," Damon glanced at her. "No, no body parts outside the car while it's moving. You know the rules."

She rolled her eyes before closing them, sighed contently and decided to actually follow his rules for once. He turned onto a dirt road, trees surrounding them on both sides. He drove in silence. She rested softly against her seat. Silence had never been weird between them. She loved and enjoyed the fact that they could spend time together without talking. It felt nice. It was natural.

There had been night's when she'd been lying awake, talking to him for several hours. It never bothered her that he tiredly murmured in reply and didn't remember half the things she'd said when he woke up. The most important thing was that he let her talk even though he was tired and just wanted to sleep. He let her talk even if he wanted her to be quiet.

Elena opened her eyes and glanced at him. Damon. Her best friend. A smile graced her face. He was wearing a black t-shirt and dark shorts. He'd put on his sunglasses, had one hand on the wheel, while the other rested on his thigh. He was a laid back driver. He never held the steering wheel with both hands. Most of the time, he drove faster than the signs told him to. Any sane or normal person would jump out of the car the minute they realized Damon's driving skills were of the more advanced class.

She loved him for a lot of reasons. She loved him for always being honest with her. She loved him for always being the one and constant thing in her life that never changed. She wouldn't even be able to count all the reasons for loving him – there were so many.

The most important part was that they were and always would be a part of each other's life's – no matter what. Nothing could come between them.

They reached their destination five minutes later. Elena stepped out of the car and stared in awe at the crystal-clear water in front of them. Green trees and bushes surrounded the small lake. The sound of rushing water caused her to turn to her side. From the mountain near the lake – a small waterfall flowed out of a crack in the large stone creation. It was so beautiful. She stepped forward and blinked in astonishment. Incredible.

"I found you a waterfall."

"Damon." She exclaimed, facing him. "You remembered."

Seeing a waterfall IRL was on her to-do-list.

"Number seventy-six on your list, right?"

He looked so adorable with his hands in his pockets, grinning like a Cheshire cat, obviously very happy about her reaction. Elena smiled at him, blushing while happiness coursed through her chest.

Damon walked over to her and placed his hands on her hips. He gently stroked his hands over her flat stomach and inhaled her perfume. It was such a simple act but it still got her skin to tingle with anticipation. His touch was electrifying.

"You've lost weight." He muttered and put his arms around her waist.

"And that's a bad thing?"

He snorted at her retort. "Yeah. If you start dieting obsessively again."

"I'm not dieting." Elena tilted her head to look at him. "Don't worry."

Damon nodded, quiet and deep in thought. She noticed the tension in his posture as they touched a sacred subject. It was hard for both of them to talk about her disorder and the difficult road to her recovery.

"You would tell me if things were getting out of control again?"

It sounded like he demanded an answer and she hurried to assure him. "Of course."

"Then why do I get the feeling that there's something you're not telling me?"

Elena bit her lower lip, he knew her so well. She walked out of his embrace as he reluctantly let her go. She shrugged, trying to find the right words, unaware of how to say what needed to be said.

"I have a date."

"What?" He blinked, obviously trying to comprehend what this new information might mean to him.

"Kol asked me out. He's in my math class."

Damon dropped his jaw but quickly caught himself. He seemed to shove his annoyance to the side and crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps looking all bulky. He frowned, almost glaring at her in confusion.

"You said no, right?"

"No."

"Good."

"No," Elena shook her head. "I meant no to your question. He asked me out and I said yes."

"Have you lost your freaking mind? The guy is a dick."

"I guess there's a lot of things the two of you have in common then."

"Oh, please," Damon muttered and started pacing back and forth. "I'm serious, Elena. He's a douche."

"How would you even know?" She asked sternly.

Kol was handsome, she couldn't deny that. He'd also been very sweet and calm when approaching her. She'd liked the vibe he'd sent her and that was the main reason she'd said yes.

"Caroline set you up with him, didn't she?"

"Does it matter?"

Elena knew that Caroline and Damon loathed one another and barely spoke to the other unless it was an emergency of some sort. Admitting that Caroline had been the one to introduce them would probably cause more problems than she wanted or could possibly handle at the moment.

And even if Caroline had been the one to introduce them — Kol had still asked her out on his own terms and not because Caroline pushed him to do so. Kol was different from Damon in so many ways and it was nice to know that other guys found her attractive as well.

She knew that agreeing to date Kol would change things between her and Damon and it was scary. They'd been using the benefits part of their friendship for such a long time that it was hard to remember the rules sometimes.

However, honesty had always been the key between them and she'd decided to stick with the truth no matter what. She'd told him about her upcoming date and what it would mean if she actually liked Kol and wanted to continue to date him on a regular basis. For one, their sexual interactions would have to cease to exist. She would miss the intimacy but she could surely live without it – right?

Elena walked over to him, put her arms around him, inhaling his scent. She tilted her head and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Those kinds of moments would have to come to an end as well.

Her chest ached at the thought of not being intimate with him – but, she told herself that change was for the best. For both of them.

Elena just hoped that Damon could accept it, sooner rather than later.

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_Be kind enough to leave a review! Or just a smile =)_

_Love, Quinn_


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